afternoon could turn; two girls suddenly slashing each other with broken glass bottles or attacking with a pair of scissors over the theft of 10,000 rupiah ($1.30), a bowl of rice or a bucket of water. Or even just over one of them coughing.
Often in the centre of the storm was fiery Timorese prisoner Sonia Gonzales Miranda, nicknamed Black Monster. She was notorious in Hotel K for her fighting, her psychotic behaviour and for regularly being locked up for months in cell tikus . She tore around the jail, pulsing with energy, instigating spats and catfights wherever she went. If someone refused to give her a cigarette, she’d pinch their breasts. But usually she didn’t need a motive. Her fuse just blew anyway. She always managed to break the daily monotony.
When one afternoon a new prisoner gingerly walked into her cell for the first time, Sonia sprang like a cat off the floor and started strangling her. Other girls jumped up to unclasp Black Monster’s fingers from the woman’s neck. As they pulled her off she went nuts, flailing her fists around and yelling like a lunatic. A male guard walked in and started slapping her around the head, before dragging her out by the hair and down to the guard’s table. It was like a game to Sonia. The second he let go, she sprinted off, laughing maniacally. He angrily tore after her, snatching her by the shoulders within a couple of strides. He whacked her a few times and led her back. She enjoyed creating a show like this. All the women stopped to watch. The guards sat discussing what to do with Black Monster. The punishment cells were all booked up. They decided to isolate her in her own cell for a few weeks, expelling her cellmates and dispersing them into the eight other cramped cells, excluding Mexican model Clara’s paid-for ninth cell.
Sonia craved attention and didn’t mind disrupting everyone’s life to get it. During the night she’d suddenly let out a long, piercing scream and thrash the cell door back and forth, just to wake up as many women as possible. Angry screams telling her to shut up would tear back until the entire block was awake, and abusive yelling was coming from every cell along the path, often accompanied by the loud din of saucepans being banged against the bars. It could last all night, until the fury exploded into a fight in the morning.
One such fight broke out on the eve of a court hearing. Sonia started screaming abuse at a girl, Dewi, a few cells down. The pair fought often and had a joint date in court the next day. Dewi stood at her barred door, yelling, ‘I’ll get you in the morning, Black Monster!’ Black Monster yelled back, ‘I’ll get you, Dewi!’ Their inane slanging match continued for hours.
In the morning, when a guard opened Black Monster’s cell, the fight blew up. The guard grabbed Sonia by the arm to take her straight out of the block before a fight started. But Dewi was already crouched near the door. As Sonia walked past, they both spat abuse. Sonia snapped. She broke the guard’s grip, snatched a broken glass bottle from the ground nearby and threw it at Dewi. She missed, but the fight was on. They were both dancing around each other with jagged shards of broken glass. A crowd gathered to watch the action – it was better than breakfast television. Black Monster didn’t let her audience down. She dumped the glass and charged at Dewi, knocking her to the ground. They rolled around, tearing out clumps of each other’s hair. The guards pulled them apart. Sonia broke their grip again, and hurled Dewi to the ground for the grand finale. Dewi crashed hard, twisting her wrist and crying out in agony. As the guards yanked Sonia away, she turned back to smirk at the crowd. She didn’t go to court that day. She was locked back into her isolation cell.
If Hotel K issued membership cards, Sonia’s would be platinum. For years she’d been checking in and out. When she wasn’t a guest, she’d return as a visitor to see a
Often in the centre of the storm was fiery Timorese prisoner Sonia Gonzales Miranda, nicknamed Black Monster. She was notorious in Hotel K for her fighting, her psychotic behaviour and for regularly being locked up for months in cell tikus . She tore around the jail, pulsing with energy, instigating spats and catfights wherever she went. If someone refused to give her a cigarette, she’d pinch their breasts. But usually she didn’t need a motive. Her fuse just blew anyway. She always managed to break the daily monotony.
When one afternoon a new prisoner gingerly walked into her cell for the first time, Sonia sprang like a cat off the floor and started strangling her. Other girls jumped up to unclasp Black Monster’s fingers from the woman’s neck. As they pulled her off she went nuts, flailing her fists around and yelling like a lunatic. A male guard walked in and started slapping her around the head, before dragging her out by the hair and down to the guard’s table. It was like a game to Sonia. The second he let go, she sprinted off, laughing maniacally. He angrily tore after her, snatching her by the shoulders within a couple of strides. He whacked her a few times and led her back. She enjoyed creating a show like this. All the women stopped to watch. The guards sat discussing what to do with Black Monster. The punishment cells were all booked up. They decided to isolate her in her own cell for a few weeks, expelling her cellmates and dispersing them into the eight other cramped cells, excluding Mexican model Clara’s paid-for ninth cell.
Sonia craved attention and didn’t mind disrupting everyone’s life to get it. During the night she’d suddenly let out a long, piercing scream and thrash the cell door back and forth, just to wake up as many women as possible. Angry screams telling her to shut up would tear back until the entire block was awake, and abusive yelling was coming from every cell along the path, often accompanied by the loud din of saucepans being banged against the bars. It could last all night, until the fury exploded into a fight in the morning.
One such fight broke out on the eve of a court hearing. Sonia started screaming abuse at a girl, Dewi, a few cells down. The pair fought often and had a joint date in court the next day. Dewi stood at her barred door, yelling, ‘I’ll get you in the morning, Black Monster!’ Black Monster yelled back, ‘I’ll get you, Dewi!’ Their inane slanging match continued for hours.
In the morning, when a guard opened Black Monster’s cell, the fight blew up. The guard grabbed Sonia by the arm to take her straight out of the block before a fight started. But Dewi was already crouched near the door. As Sonia walked past, they both spat abuse. Sonia snapped. She broke the guard’s grip, snatched a broken glass bottle from the ground nearby and threw it at Dewi. She missed, but the fight was on. They were both dancing around each other with jagged shards of broken glass. A crowd gathered to watch the action – it was better than breakfast television. Black Monster didn’t let her audience down. She dumped the glass and charged at Dewi, knocking her to the ground. They rolled around, tearing out clumps of each other’s hair. The guards pulled them apart. Sonia broke their grip again, and hurled Dewi to the ground for the grand finale. Dewi crashed hard, twisting her wrist and crying out in agony. As the guards yanked Sonia away, she turned back to smirk at the crowd. She didn’t go to court that day. She was locked back into her isolation cell.
If Hotel K issued membership cards, Sonia’s would be platinum. For years she’d been checking in and out. When she wasn’t a guest, she’d return as a visitor to see a
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